


Soft as Snow

by cheinsaw



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Baking, Christmas Fluff, Gen, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 19:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5509874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheinsaw/pseuds/cheinsaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kotori and Hanayo have Christmas baking to do while most of μ's is away. Meanwhile, Nozomi's happy to enjoy a winter filled with love.</p>
<p>Written for the LLSIF Secret Santa on tumblr as a gift for thegamerblog2point0.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soft as Snow

Kotori wakes to bright sun reflecting off new fallen snow, and icicles dripping outside her window. She squeezes her eyes shut and snuggles back into her blankets, curling her toes in the warmth. She's very well-rested, for a change—the Christmas season usually leaves her a bit worn out, what with all her sewing and late nights spent designing the perfect presents. But not today. Today is a very special day, and she's comfortable and refreshed on a beautiful morning, and she couldn't imagine anything better.

Kotori loves sweets. Kotori particularly loves to bake sweets, and Christmas cookies are some of her favorites—she gets to make cute holiday designs and use her best cookie cutters. This will be her first Christmas with μ's, so she's overjoyed to have new friends to bake for, as well as a new helper.

_good morning!_ she types into a new mail on her phone. _i'm awake so you can come over anytime! (_ _´_ _▽_ _` )_

She reads it over, making sure she's satisfied with its short contents, and then sends it to Hanayo's number. Within a minute there's a reply: _good morning kotori-chan, i'm on my way~_

Hanayo was undoubtedly the best choice for Kotori's seasonal cooking partner. Her enthusiasm for food rivals even Honoka's, and her attention to detail is second to none. She's helped Kotori sew costumes last-minute before, and Kotori found that their work styles meshed well. Plus, Hanayo's one of the only μ's members free, with Maki and Eli on family vacations, Nico busy with her family, and Rin and Honoka both out of commission with colds.

Kotori has just enough time to dress herself and brush her teeth and hair before the doorbell rings. She races down the stairs, her socks sliding on the wood floor, and opens the door to welcome her guest inside. "Hanayo-chan!" Kotori says warmly. Hanayo's nose and cheeks are pink from the cold, and her hair is fluffed up under her knitted hat. "Are you ready to cook or do you want to warm up first…?"

"Ah, um, I think I'll have some tea, if that's okay," Hanayo replies, unlacing her heavy winter boots.

"Sure thing! Then we can discuss what we're going to make," Kotori trills, heading off to the kitchen to put the teakettle on. Chamomile, she decides, is a nice flavor for a day like this. Hanayo quickly joins her, rubbing her hands together to warm them.

"Do you have recipes?" Hanayo asks softly, her eyes lingering on the several pounds of butter Kotori's set out to soften.

"Mmhm! Sugar cookies and chocolate truffles and peppermint candy." Kotori rifles through a kitchen drawer and comes up with a handwritten recipe book, which she slides across the table to Hanayo. "We can make anything you want!"

"Sugar cookies sound nice…"

"Okay! Then we get to decorate them… That's why I have so much butter out, for the frosting."

"Y-you frost them with butter?" Hanayo asks, alarmed.

"Eh? Oh, no! We mix the butter with sugar and cream and flavoring and coloring, so it's nice and sweet and fluffy!" Behind Kotori, the kettle begins to sing, and she quickly extinguishes the flame on the stove and pours the boiling water into two waiting teacups. "It can be a little tricky, but I think it's really fun too!"

"That's a relief," Hanayo says, curling her fingers around her hot teacup.

Kotori giggles, deciding to busy herself with unwrapping the butter and setting it into mixing bowls. "Could you read me the recipe for the plain sugar cookies? It's near the beginning."

"Makes seventy-two?"

"Yes, yes!"

"That's so much… But, then again, Honoka-chan, and Rin-chan…"

"Ehehe, that's what I was thinking." 

Hanayo is a good assistant, reading the measurements off to Kotori while she sips her tea. By the time the dough is ready to be rolled out and cut into shapes, Hanayo's hands are warm again, and she's eager to help pick out cookie cutters. "How many of Santa-san should we make?"

"Hmmm… Maybe nine, so each of us can have one. We could use eight different cutters, so each of us gets eight cookies, maybe?"

"But what if we mess up?"

"It's okay, it'll still taste good." Kotori smiles warmly.

And before too long, the last batch of cookies is in the oven, and the final layer of peppermint bark is cooling in the fridge, and Hanayo's fingers are smeared with pale green frosting. A mountain of freshly-cleaned bowls and pans is piled in the sink, containers of sweets stacked high on the counter beside it.  

Kotori yawns. "That was a lot of fun, but now I'm exhausted…"

"Right? I didn't know baking took so much effort…"

"But we made lots of cute sweets, I think!"

"Mmhm!" Hanayo smiles happily. "We should go for a walk while we wait for the frosting to dry."

"Sounds good!" Kotori's been thinking that it's beautiful outside all day, but didn’t think she'd get a chance to actually go out. The midafternoon sun sparkling off the snow fills her with a sense of wonderment and delight, making her like Christmas is truly here.

The two girls bundle up into their coats and boots and set off into the bright white landscape.

* * *

Nozomi typically wakes up early, especially in the winter. It's important for her to get as much sunlight as possible when the days are shorter, so she sits in her room and watches the sun rise every morning. Then by the afternoon, she's ready for a nap, and wakes up again to watch the sun set. It's the perfect schedule—at least when she doesn't have school or Eli at her heels. (Without school and Eli, it gets lonely, but Nozomi has made so many new friends this year that she tries not to think about that anymore.)

Today, though, the sunlight on the fresh snow is enough to motivate her to go on a walk. The sky is so clear and blue, the red pillars of the shrine standing in stark contrast. Nozomi claps, bows, thanks the gods for leading her here. Whenever she wanders aimlessly, she always seems to end up at places of great spiritual power. And Nozomi knows all too well that everything happens for a reason. She just has to be patient and look.

Soon enough, though, the gods' reason for bringing her to the shrine is evident. From behind the torii, she can see two familiar faces, walking together down the sidewalk. Long pale hair, a short golden brown bob, a pair of glasses, a bright green ribbon--there's no doubt about it. Nozomi leans down and scoops up a handful of snow, packing it tight in her hands. "Heads up!" she calls out gleefully before flinging it directly at Kotori's chest.

Everything seems to happen at once: Kotori's face twisting into surprise and confusion, Hanayo moving right into the snowball's trajectory, and the snowball itself collapsing pathetically in midair before it has a chance to hit its mark. Nozomi laughs and ducks out from behind the pillar. "Ehehe, sorry," she laughs.

"Nozomi-chan!" Hanayo squeaks, clearly still slightly panicked.

"Ah, Nozomi-chan! Don't be mean before Christmas!" Kotori pouts. "Are you working?"

"Hmm? Oh, no," Nozomi says, smoothing out the front of her coat. "I took a walk and the spirits guided me here. I guess it was to meet you two."

"We're on a walk too," Kotori says. "We didn't really watch where we were going…"

"I think we just started walking towards the school and ended up here," Hanayo agrees.

Nozomi smiles. "Ah, I see! Have you been on a date?"

"E-eh? Nozomi-chan! It's not like that!"

"Oh?" Nozomi asks, grinning knowingly, although she's just teasing.

"We were baking cookies!" Hanayo blurts.

"Hanayo-chan!" Kotori says, alarmed.

Hanayo visibly deflates a little. "It was supposed to be a surprise for when everyone was together again..." As if to comfort her, Kotori gently pats Hanayo's arm.

Nozomi chuckles. "Ah, don't you worry. It's okay, Hanayo-chan, I'll keep your secret safe. ...As long as I get to try one."

"Sure!" Kotori chirps. "If you're not busy we can go back to my house together."

The offer is so spontaneous, so genuine, that Nozomi's a little shocked. And she smiles, thinking of how wonderful this Christmas will be, surrounded by friends. "That would be nice," she says, and all is right with Nozomi Toujou.

* * *

"Whoooooaaaa!" Rin yells, her eyes sparkling at the array of sweets in front of her. "Kayochin! Did you really make all these?"

"Ehehe, Kotori and I did together!" Hanayo says, her face glowing in delight.

"They're impressive," Eli agrees, nibbling on a chocolate-dipped shortbread cookie. Next to her, Honoka's already shoved at least two truffles in her mouth, her happiness almost palpable.

"They worked really, really hard," Nozomi says. "You better enjoy the sweets…"

Nico _hmph_ s. "I make stuff like this all the time."

"Uh huh," Maki says. "Why have we never seen it, then?"

"Uh, my younger siblings eat them so fast, I just…!" Nico pouts.

Umi smiles. "These all look wonderful. Thank you, Kotori, Hanayo."

Kotori's grinning from ear to ear. "I'm so glad! Thank you, everyone! Merry Christmas!"

Outside, the snow falls silently, soft and delicate. Long into the night, the room is filled with such warm energy, such love and laughter and joy, that every member of μ's can feel it. And each of them is certain: it's the best Christmas they've ever had.


End file.
